Husband of Slain Mount Laurel Woman Pleads Guilty

Mount Laurel, NJ (WTXF) -The husband of a slain Mount Laurel woman admitted on Tuesday to choking his wife to death on New Years Eve last year and dumping her body in rural Maryland. Kyle J. Crosby, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and hindering appre-hension in Burlington County Superior Court as part of a plea deal, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office announced.

According officials, Crosby admitted in court that on December 31, 2014 he fatally choked his wife, Erica Crippen, 26, inside their Mount Laurel home and later transported her body to Maryland.

Investigators found Crippen's body March 17 along a rural road in Sykesville, Maryland. She had been missing since New Year's Eve, and her body was discovered under some branches and brush. Prosecutors have said the body was wrapped in a blanket; her arms, legs and neck were bound with an elec-trical cord and duct tape was on her face and nose.

Crosby's mother, Jo Crosby, 68, of Sicklerville, NJ, was indicted in April on one count of Hindering Apprehension and one count of Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence.

She is free on $12,500 bail.

As part of the plea agreement with Kyle Crosby, the charges against his mother will be dismissed at sentencing.

The remains of Erica Crippen were discovered March 17 by investigators in Sykesville, Maryland; police used the GPS found in Crosby's vehicle after he was taken into custody on January 12.

More than 8,600 coordinates had been recorded by the GPS device.

Investigators determined that Crosby had spent more time along Old Freder-ick Road in Carroll County than at other locations and concentrated the search in that area.

An autopsy concluded that the manner of death was homicide and the cause was asphyxiation.

The couple lived in Mount Laurel, in southern New Jersey, with their infant daughter and Crippen's 7-year-old daughter.